You may notice this isn't going to take the same form as a standard review, but
this is far from a standard item. Bootlegs of third party transforming robot
toys are not a new concept. Indeed, they've been happening to some degree for
almost as long as "third party" has been in the fandom consciousness. But
typically those took the form of attempts to closely imitate the original
product to actively capitalize on it. The quality may not have matched the
original, but it was relatively high and sometimes hard to distinguish from the
original. But this is a different field. It's taken a long time - longer than I
expected, but bootlegs based on third party figures have finally hit the level
of cheap no-brand merchandise, and it's kind of amazing.

The Easter baskets these figures first appeared in contain two out of three
possible figures. One is an oversized bootleg of an Energon combiner limb - the
A-10-style plane, specifically. But that's not what we're interested in talking
about. No, we're here for the other two possible toys. The Car Model and
Airplane Model just happen to be based on the Fansproject Crossfire series
Munitioner and Explorer figures, possibly better known as not-Swindle and
not-Blast Off. I'll be talking about Car Model here, while RAC will be
conducting a write up of Airplane Model. Not to be confused with Airplane Model
the airplane, of course.

This isn't a direct rip off of Munitioner, exactly. For one it's probably
twice the size, as the best knockoffs tend to be. It's also in absurd colors,
and as is the season, they happen to be Easter themed in purple and green. It's
actually a good size in vehicle mode. In Transformers terms it would be like a
small Voyager or unusually large Deluxe, kind of how RID Strongarm inflates
somewhat in transformation and makes a big truck. But Car Model doesn't do any
tricks to get there. As you might expect, the parts fit is kind of poor.
There's gaps and mismatches between panels, some things resist securing
together because they simply don't fit. But generally the vehicle mode stays
together as much as it needs to, and I think that's a victory worth
recognizing. The wheels are pegged in, and following along the theme of poor
fit, aren't able to turn freely because the peg is too big. It wouldn't really
work out anyway though, since some of the plastic is deformed and the wheelbase
is hoplessly skewed. Now, surface detailing here is limited, though I find that
what is present is actually carried out in some decent clarity. There's solid
edges, good definition. It can be a little simplistic, but honestly anything
else would just seem out of place here. Now, I'll talk about the deco on its
own shortly, but there is one specific aspect I want to address since it's not
an element really for the robot mode. On the rear roof, there's a big, white
sticker with some text printed on it, where a company called "Megatoys" claims
responsibility for the distribution of this thing, and the sticker claims they
can be reached at 6443 E. Slauson Ave., Commerce, CA 90040. I think it's very
courageous of them to actually let everyone know where to find them and so
clearly claim their role in bringing this product to market!

Transformation is very interesting indeed. I've had my share of knockoff
figures over the years, but I think this is the very first one made entirely of
crayon. It makes the notion of changing forms a bit intimidating because you're
kind of reluctant to risk damage. Mind, that would all fall in the realm of
small things like tabs or pegs and probably not arms and legs in their
entirety. Probably.

The process is rather simple, ultimately. I haven't handled a Munitioner
before, but I very much suspect this removed some number of steps and just
focused on the core necessities of moving between forms. Car Model's robot mode
honestly doesn't look as good as the vehicle mode. The robot parts have less
defined looking sculpting, and the proportions are a little comical - likely
the outcome of upscaling the design without making any substantive changes to
it. The head in particular is troubling, as there are basically no familiar
details to pick out. As it's made and painted, it looks like a forehead crest
has slid down over the eyes and his mouth has been stolen.

The head can't move. The well-defined neck is a static connection despite
looking like it ought to move. Car Model keeps the basic points of articulation
you'd expect from a functional figure, with shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees.
But one of them has taken a bad turn in being remade here. I looked in to this,
and Munitioner has a vaguely complex structure for the elbow, which allows it
to bend forward. Here, that is reduced to a single ball joint, and so the only
direction the elbow can bend is inward. Though, since it's a ball joint, it's
also able to swivel decently while Car Model punches himself in the kidney.

The deco is actually a little bit worse than what I'd consider average for a
bootleg. There's gold and silver paint at varying points, haphazardly splotched
on. The silver was already peeling and flaking away before I ever opened the
package. The gold may have adhered better, but it's so sloppily applied it's
truly difficult to tell if any has gone missing or just wasn't there in the
first place. What's perhaps more entertaining than the paint it got is where
paint was left off. The entire front surface, notionally the windshield, is
unpainted. Thus the windshield is a solid block of purple, albeit ever so
slightly recessed to imply a frame around it. I'm certainly not trying to hold
a knockoff to normal standards, but I am amused by the idea that this vehicle
is driving around with an opaque front window out of cost concerns or simple
negligence.

A moment ago I described the figure as being made of crayon. While I
expressed concern for small projections like pegs, in general I don't feel very
worried about the toy. The plastic has a hideous feel to it, but not a brittle
one. It's very flexible which will likely prevent careless breakage for the
most part. I find it a benefit as well because it makes the entire object seem
just that little bit more ridiculous somehow. It is a bootleg through and
through, but unlike some I've seen, at least it doesn't feel especially like
it's going to shatter on the first movement.

Of course, this isn't the only element of the package you'd be paying for.
While I'm setting aside the Airplane Model, we should consider the other items
here. It's an Easter special, so of course everything comes together in a
basket. A very tall basket, since it has to hold and prominently display two
large action figure packages in it. The basket is made of wood, and seems to be
reasonably durable. It could likely survive most of the time to next Easter if
you decided to store it for reuse. At the base of the basket, a small sheet of
green tissue paper is wrapped around a stuffing of simple brown paper, which I
think has good value as padding for boxes, but otherwise doesn't offer much to
the package as a whole. But, it wouldn't be an Easter Basket if there wasn't
some candy inside! Offered in this range of baskets are a small packet of
M&M's, a Fundip, and some Lemonheads. I'm not much of a fan of what gets
called "chocolate" in America, so the M&M's aren't doing much for me. But
the fruitier flavors of the others, while not in any way genuinely reflecting
the taste of fruit, are certainly less bothersome to me. Of course with each
being less than an ounce of candy, this isn't much more than a sample of what
you might find in a retail package. Of course, this may be colored some by my
childhood experiences where my Easter baskets routinely contained the amazing
two pound bags of Skittles alongside a toy. In any case, these contribute
almost nothing to the value proposition, but are nice to have around if you
need a quick sugar fix.

"Reporting for limb-duty, sir!""........."

Ultimately this is more remarkable for what it represents rather than what
it delivers. I think the appearance of items taken from unofficial transforming
figures at bargain retail level has been years overdue, and I'm incredibly
amused to see that it's finally gotten here. And with these two existing
already, there's a very good chance that exposure will continue beyond seasonal
novelties. Big Lots in the United States had long been a supplier of bootleg
Transformers, until they went a little too far and got noticed by Hasbro. But
since these aren't clones of toy designs Hasbro owns, they may just be fair
game. And there's any number of other possible venues. No, this isn't a
substitute for having an actual Munitioner, but that was never the point of
this. The point is more that the outfits copying toys to manufacture and sell
for next to nothing have caught up to third party. The landscape could get
mighty interesting from here. At least, I certainly hope it does!